General Care Discussion :: Hi! Turtle Newb here!

[Pixel]

I recently adopted a pair of what I am fairly sure are yellow bellied sliders. They are about 2 inches and 3 inches. A friend of mine daughter bought them, and then left her to take care of them. She had more than enough on her plate, so with no knowledge I volunteered. They were in a 10 gallon tank with loads of decorative gravel on the bottom. STINKY!!! I did some research, and bought a 30 gallon tub for them. Ditched the substrate. Funds are short right now, so I am only running a Zoomed Turtle Clean 501. which I know isn't big enough, so I do partial water changes a lot. They have a heat lamp and UVB lamp and also a submersible Tetra water heater. I've been feeding them Reptomin sticks as well as leafy greens like Dandelion Greens and Romaine Lettuce. Discovered they are fiends for corn nuggets (to much sugar?). I also bought them a Calci-Treat which they seem to like to nibble on.
Since their move from the cramped 10 gallon they are a thousand times more active and seem pretty happy. Never knew turtles were beggars. LOL!! At least they can't wake me up at 4 AM like the cats do.
Since the move though, they don't bask as much. Is this OK?
Is 30 gallons enough for their size right now? What filter should I be looking for next? In doing research, many seem to say canister. Seems Fluval is up there. Is that what I should get next? What else should I be doing for them?
Sorry for all the questions, but I wanna do right by them, and am already quite attached to them.

[steve]

Welcome to the forum! Do they have a new basking area? Corn nuggets would be a no for their diet. Sadly, 30 gallons is not enough but you're doing what you can. Once you figure out their genders, then you can plan long term. If one or both is a male, you might be looking at separation in a few years.

[Pixel]

Thanks for the response! It's the same dock they had before, just in the newer tub. I don't know their genders yet. OK, no more corn nuggets. What else should I be feeding them besides the greens and pellets? Should I get them some worms too?
I found a good price on Amazon for a Fluval 406, so am thinking of ordering it.

[steve]

An occasional worm is OK, just make sure it's from a clean source. Is the basking temp the same? I'm not a fan of that filter, though many people do use it. What's your budget for a filter?

[Pixel]

Well Steve, my friend who I adopted the turtles from wanted to help out and bought me a Fluval. I have it up and running and it is doing a great job. Nice gift actually.
I went to the local reptile and fish place near me and bought them a can of worms from Zoo Med. They love em, but figured they should just be treats. They really love the dandelion greens, especially the red veiny parts. They eat their turtle sticks quite happily also.
I also swear a bought a thermometer there, but either left it there, or quickly misplaced it. I'll go back out to buy another. I'm wondering if the bulb isn't strong enough? It's a 60 watt daytime bulb (it's blue). It's about 8 or nine inches up from the basking area, I have it set as close as possible in the tub. They liked the bulb when they were in the small cramped tank, but maybe this one is to far away to get real good warmth? I also don't want it to be to hot.
They are very active and quite nosy, so I don't know if it's just because of that they don't spend much time basking. Of course who knows what they are doing when I'm at work.
Here's a couple of pics of them:
The 1st one is Damon who is about 2 inches, the second one is Matt who is about 3 inches.

[steve]

They look great. The rock in the first pic looks a bit abrasive, so keep an eye on that. Zoo Med Can O' Crickets Mini-Size is also a nice treat. You might need to keep the basking area a little bit warmer until they become acclimated to the new setup.

[Pixel]

Should I get a different bulb? I bought that when they were in the 10 gallon.
I wondered about the rock, but the smaller one seems to favor it over all the other options he has, and it seems that is where they sleep once the lights go out. I hate to take it away from them right now.
Oh, and based on those pics, do you have an idea of what they are? Based on pictures I've seen, they appear to be yellow bellied sliders.
I'm going back tomorrow to get the thermometers, so I'll pick up those crickets too. They have every type of bulb there too if you think I should swap theirs out.

Edit: When I turned on the heat lamp this morning it blew. So hopefully you or someone will see this before I head out later.

[xcristina]

You could get a normal halogen bulb, I have a 35watt halogen that keeps the basking spot pretty warm, as the light is concentrated on a smaller area than a classic incandescent bulb. Of course you also need a UVB bulb, don't forget to buy one if you don't have one already.

[steve]

Which bulb? The basking bulb? Could it be moved closer? I don't think a daytime bulb has much advantage over a regular candescent. I prefer halogen floods, but I'd wait to use that in a larger setup.

Keep the rock but just occasionally check the shell to make sure there is no damage.

[Pixel]

It seems it was both the basking bulb, and the dome itself that blew. It was a 60 watt daylight bulb, and the dome was rated for up to 75 watts. xcristina, they do have a UVB bulb, and that seems to be working fine (fingers crossed).
Bought a new dome, so hopefully I can get it sorted out. I also bought them a floating log in the hopes they will hang on that instead of the rock. Learning......................

[xcristina]

Ok, good luck! Yours turts are very pretty!

[Pixel]

Thanks! I still don't know what they are though? I've asked but no one has answered yet. I can get more pics if need be.
Also, the little one does seem to prefer just a regular bulb as opposed to the "turtle" type. Basking happily away now with an incandescent.

Ok, good luck! Yours turts are very pretty!

[xcristina]

They do look like YBS to me too, but I'm not an expert by any means...

[Kansasslider]

I would say Yellow bellied sliders. They look like this one. The colors and patterns can be quite different. But they look like YBS to me.

[Pixel]

Thanks guys!!!